Ship propulsion device combined with hull structure



W. COSTA Oct. 26, 1954 SHIP PROPULSION DEVICE COMBINED wrm HULL STRUCTURE Filed July 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1. f. i KIQE NTOR ATTORNEY {WILLIAM Cos'nq I BY w. cosTA 2,692,570

LL STRUCTURE Oct. 26, 1954 SHIP PROPULSION DEVICE COMBINED WITH Filed July 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

l NVENTOR Y m .m o C vw MMA mm M M Patented Oct. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES DFF-I CE' SHIP-"PROPULSION DEVICE "COMBINED WITH HULL STRUCTURE;

William. Costa, San; Diego; Calif; Application July 24, 1950, Serial-"N03 175,567

4 Claims. .1

Thelinvention. relates: to the propulsion of a ship by. a unitari-ly attached, rather than built-in, powerunit.

An: object ofthe. invention is to provide for the replaceable attachmentto a shipshull of one or more-self-contained propulsion units.

Another object is to. provide propulsion units of the character-described which are adapted to be removed or replaced under either drydock or submergence conditions.

A further object is to provide, for a particularly ready attachment and removal of propulsion units of the character described with respect to a ships hull.

The invention possesses other objects and features' of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth or be apparent. in the following description of a typical embodiment thereof, and in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a sideelevation: of a ship provided with a pair of propulsion units of my invention.

Figure 2 is an. enlarged fragmentary side View of the stern portion of the ship, a lower hull. portion being shown in axial section.

Figure 3; shows. a present propulsion unit disposed in. underlying: spaced relation. touthehull shown in Figure 2 and arranged for its vertical movement into attached relation to said' hull, an upper-portion. of the unit being shown in longitudinal section.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the propulsion unit of FigureB.

Figure 5 is a partly sectional view of the stern portion. ofthe ship at the propulsion unit.

Figure 6 is a partly sectional view taken generally at the line fi--6 in Figure 5.

Figures 7 and 3 are fragmentary sectional views taken respectively at the lines 7-l' and 8-8 in Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a perspective View of'thev propulsion unit of Figures 3 and 4 having its hatch removed.

As illustrating a typical application of my in ventlon, I haveshown a ship !4 having a hull 55 provided with a pair of propulsion units it at tached to its bottom in depending and unitary relation thereto. The present units is are similar and are particularly shown as disposed in mutually aligned relation beneath the keel line of the hull, with the rearward of said units disposes The skin ofthe hull at its sides and bottom I? is suitably fabricated of plates which are backed by a frame structure:includingribs in .an appropriate hull structure.

present propulsionrxunit i6 hasaa suitably at the stern; or aft, portion of the hull.

streamlined hull 2.! of a! general; power-launch outline-andstnucture, and hasr-its-gunwale 22.13110- viding. a. continuous. upper face? 23 arranged-for sealed engagement .with and. beneath: an. opposed complementary face "portion: of :theshipisbottom I! when the unitis. attached to theships hull. As particularlyshowntheupper gunwale face '23 isprovidedby a-continuous frame'zkfixed to and along the insideof thesides. of the, unit .hull. 2 l, with said face flush with thetop of the hull sides. Boltsv '25 are suitablyr extendable from above through/the shipsbottom: and the gunwale frame 24 to engage in :cap-nuts-Zfifixed .toand beneath the frame for 'clampedly-fixingthe unit, against the; ships bottom,, a suitable continuous gasket 27 being,preferablyinterposed between thev gunwale face -23 and the opposed portion of the ships bottom I 1-.for:water-sealing the; connection.

Therhull- 21 of a unit It ca'rriesttherein a suitableengine229 which istarranged for.:its operation to: dr-ivea propeller shaft- 30: which; extends from-the-stern of :the hull 21-. and-'carries-a suitable screw 1 propeller; 31 for i use.- in propelling the unit and: the; ship, to which it. is attached, the driving power beingetransmitted. from the engine shaft 29 to the propeller shaft 36 through a suitable variable speed-transmission indicatedat- 32 and-a clutch 33. The present engine 2S.-is.assumedntobe of .the. diesel type and to primarily receive-its-fuel through apipe 34: extending from fuel tanks 35, provided within the ships hull. An auxiliary fuel: tank 36. is. preferably provided within. the; unit IE to provide" fuelfor the:-selfpropulsion .of the detached unitif such isdesired. Asy-particularly indicated; an. electric, starting motor 3l..-is;-.providedr for-the.- engine 29', and the engine: maybe; cooled. by; water. drawn into and forced from the: hull. bottom 2-I'- at. a, suitable valve assembly 38. HExhaust'forthe products of combustion of, theengine may be provided at rear openings 39, of, the, unit: hull- The. displacement of a unit, hull 2' I preferablysuch; per-se,.that the detached unitamay ifloatx on top: of the; water for its. self-propulsion or: towing thereon.

Eaehi propulsion: unit 16 is preferably provided with arudder'a at itsrear end; said rudder-being; controllable by a; stem. 42': extending: downwardlycthrough;theyshipsz hull and provided; with a forked lowerzend 14.3 WhiChfiS arranged, to vspanningly receive the. top; edgeotthe: rudder: at. or ad-jacentitsasris of'swi-n in rberwithdrawn up- Wardly into a receiving socket 44 in the hull bottom; H. Transversely: extending-steering arms 4510f the rudder may havetillercabless extend:-

' ingiiioiwardlpTtherefromrtor a suitable: tiller control within the space of the unit hull 2! to provide for a rudder control when the unit I6 is detached from a ship and is to be propelled by its engine 29 or otherwise. In this manner, a rudder ll is arranged for its independent control from within the ship and/or from within the unit IE, it being understood that the present unit rudders may provide the sole steering control for a ship to which the units are operatively attached.

A flange 2 extends inwardly from the bottom or the gunwale frame 24, and sealedly mounts on its upper face a plate member which, with its securing bolts 51 lies below the plane of the gunwale face and provides the top deck of the unit. Intermediately thereof, the deck member 5! is provided with a hatch opening 52 having a coaming 52 extending upwardly therefrom and arranged for the sealed mounting thereon of a hatch 53 to extend no higher than the gunwale face 23. Toward its ends, the member 5| is provided with collars 5d and extending upwardly therefrom at openings 54 and 55' through the member, said collars being arranged for simultaneous and suitable sealed entry within the bottom ends of upright and appropriately spaced ventilator ducts 55 and 51 provided by the ships hull i5 and respectively utilizable for providing fresh air within the unit 16 and for carrying away the combustion products of the engine 29. As indicated in Figure '7, the ventilator duct 5'! may receive the engine exhaust from an exhaust pipe 25 and is provided with a lateral branch 51 extending to a discharge point at a side of the ships hull for optionally effecting an underwater exhaust discharge just below the water line and so against much less pressure than at the relatively deep exhaust openings 39 of the propulsion unit. When a unit It is detached from a ship, the collars 54, 55 may be suitably sealed,

as by sealing discs 54 and 55" applied at their lower ends. Means are provided for sealing the lower ends of the ducts 56 and 5! when the collars 5d and 55 are removed therefrom; as shown, slide plates or gates 53 and 59 are provided in the ducts for positioning control from within the ships hull.

Means are provided for an access connection of the hull spaces of a ship and an attached unit, said means generally comprising a closable opening 5| in the ships bottom i1 opposite the hatch opening 52 of a propulsion unit fixed thereto. As particularly shown, a continuous coaming d2 extends upwardly in the ships hull space about the opening 6! and is arranged to have a cover plate or hatch ts sealedly and removably mounted thereon, as by means of bolts connecting the coaming and cover, whereby the ships bottom may be sealed at the opening 6! when no unit it is mounted opposite it. The opening 6! in the ships bottom is preferably large enough to provide for the mounting or dismounting of the hatch 53 with respect to the deck opening 52 of a unit it when the unit is sealedly attached to the ships hull in the described manner, and the cover 83 for the opening Si is removable within the ship. When the mutually registering deck and bottom openings 52 and GI are both open, the passage of operating personnel between the ship and unit is permitted, with the fuel pipe 34, and remote control and indicator lines for the engine, also conveniently extendable through the passage thus provided.

Having a present propulsion unit l'B sealedly fixed to the hull bottom IT, a release of the unit is arranged to be effected from within the ships hull by releasing the attaching bolts 25. If a unit It is to be removed while the ship is in drydock with the hull supported independently of the unit and the unit spaced from the drydock bottom, it is only necessary to lower the released unit on jacks or other supports to clear it from the hull. Should it be necessary, however, to release and salvage a unit l6 while it and the ships bottom are submerged, it is first necessary to progressively seal the deck openings of the unit l6 and to seal the ship bottom opening 6! opposite the unit before the bolts 25 are released, and to thereafter admit water to the unit, as at the valve assembly 38 or at the engine exhaust openings 39 or at a special sea cock provided for the purpose, until the unit is gravitationally released from the hull bottom. A sealing of the deck openings of a unit I5 is arranged to be effected by applying the closure discs 54" and 55" to the collars 5d and 55 respectively from within the unit, disconnecting the portion of the pipe 34 which extends through the openings 52 and 6!, mounting the hatch 53 on the coaming 5! from within the ship, and securing said hatch in place from outside and through the ships bottom opening 6!; if the unit it is not to be salvaged the sealing may be omitted. The sealing of the ships bottom is arranged to be effected by operatively disposing the slide plates 58 and 59 in the ducts 5B and 57 respectively, and applying and securing the hatch E3 to the coaming 52 whereby the ships bottom may be sealed against the entry of water therethrough before the unit is detached. It will be understood that the mounting of a unit it on the ships bottom i1 is arranged to be effected by sealedly bolting the unit to the ships bottom by the means provided, and then opening the vent and access passages which are provided to connect the hull and unit.

The present ship-propulsion device is understood to have a number of outstanding advantages in the art. For instance, an engine and propeller assembly of a present propulsion unit is a decided improvement over a usual builtin propeller installation in a ships hull by reason of the shorter length of propeller shafts and shaft bearings needed, which directly results in a deeper propeller action, a minimized friction power loss between the engine and propeller, and an increased cargo capacity within the ships hull. The present tandem use of the propulsion units l5 as attachments to a ships hull bottom is understood to provide for a reduced hull strain, a better propeller action, a lowered center of gravity for the controlled ship, and an improved mauverability of the ship by means of the spaced plural and independently controllable propellers and rudders provided.

Aside from the emergency detachability of the present propulsion units, it will be noted that the units may be interchangeable between ships hulls arranged for their installation, and are adaptable for application in different numbers and positions with respect to ships hulls generally.

. Also, a plural installation of the units on a ships hull provides for an independent maneuvering control for each unit whereby a disabling of the power or steering equipment of one unit does not prevent further navigation of the ship. Should a ship provided with two propulsion units in tandern break apart between them to provide floating sections, as may happen under storm or war conditions, both pieces might be propelled and navigated independently.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the present ship propulsion device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains. While I have described the principle of operation, together with a form of my invention which I now consider to comprise a preferred embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the showing is primarily illustrative, and that such changes and developments may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a directly water-borne ships hull, a separate self-contained propulsion unit having a relatively small displacement as compared with the displacement of the hull and provided with a drive means and a rudder, means detachably securing said unit to the hull bottom in sealed and fully submerged and fixed posisitional relation thereto, and means carried by the hull operative to control the operations of the attached unit and connected with the drive means and rudder.

2. In combination with a directly water-borne ships hull, a pair of similar marine propulsion vessel units arranged for mutually independent surface operation and for fixing to the hull bottom and each provided with a rudder and a drive means, means detachably and sealedly fixing the units in tandem relation beneath the hull at the keel line thereof, and means carried by thehull for controlling the operations of the attached propulsion units.

3. In combination with a water-borne ship's hull, a separate self-contained propulsion unit comprising a dirigible vessel of relatively small displacement, means detachably and directly operative at the gunwale of the vessel fixing it to and beneath the hull bottom in fully sealed and fixed positional relation thereto, and means carried by the hull operative to control the operations of the attached vessel.

1. In combination with a water-borne ships hull having a bottom opening, a separate selfcontained propulsion unit comprising a dirigible vessel of relatively small displacement providing a deck opening, means about said openings detachably fixing said unit to and against the ships bottom in sealed relation thereto with the bottom hull opening and the vessel deck opening in mutual registration, sealing closures for each of said openings, and releasable means operative from within the hull space to mount or dismount said closures while the unit is attached to the hull.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date D. 159,784 Costa Aug. 22, 1950 323,832 Swindell Aug. 4, 1885 994,552 Yerton June 6, 1911 1,113,173 Kovalevitch Oct. 6, 1914 1,358,081 Kennedy Nov. 9, 1920 1,422,542 Creed July 11, 1922 1,752,063 Clifford Mar. 25, 1930 1,813,248 Mestice July 7, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 118,892 Great Britain Sept. 16, 1918 

